Pacific oysters in the Salish Sea may not contain as many microplastics as previously thought

Julieta Martinelli collects oysters at Kopachuck State Park near Gig Harbor, Washington.

Plastic pollution is an increasingly present threat to marine life and one which can potentially impact your dinner table. Oysters, and other economically valuable shellfish, filter their food from the water where they may also inadvertently capture tiny microplastics. The ingestion and accumulation of these microplastics can have detrimental effects on their health and may be passed to other animals, including humans, through the food chain. 

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Just how sustainable is a fish burger?

Ray Hilborn holding Chinook

“I’m an environmentalist, does that mean I should stop eating fish?” What began as an innocent question from a coworker worried about their environmental output sparked research that ultimately led UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Professor Ray Hilborn to answer the question: Just how sustainable is the fish burger? The short answer is very. After collecting data at the Alaska Salmon Program (specifically Bristol Bay and Prince William Sound), Hilborn found that Alaskan net fisheries have particularly low greenhouse gas usage, especially when it comes to sockeye salmon, pink salmon and pollock. 

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John Marzluff explores how farming, food production and wildlife can coexist in new book ‘In Search of Meadowlarks’

John Marzluff with crow

Farming and food production can be made more compatible with bird and wildlife conservation, says University of Washington ornithologist John Marzluff in his latest book. “In Search of Meadowlarks: Birds, Farms, and Food in Harmony with the Land” was published in February by Yale University Press. “Agriculture and wildlife can coexist,” Marzluff, a professor of environmental and forest sciences, writes, “if farmers are justly rewarded for conservation; if future technological advancements increase food production and reduce food waste; and if consumers cut back on meat consumption.”  

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Six students from UW Environment honored in 2020 Husky 100

Congrats to UW's Husky 100!

Congratulations to six College of the Environment students recognized as the 2020 Husky 100! Included in this year’s Husky 100 are Michaela Leung from Earth and Space Sciences, Olivia Sanderfoot, Autumn Forespring and Sierra Red Bow from Environmental and Forest Sciences and Bee Elliott and Celine Fujikawa from the Program on the Environment. The Husky 100 actively connect what happens inside and outside of the classroom and apply what they learn to make a difference on campus, in their communities and for the future. 

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